


rules are meant to be broken

by anothermikaelson



Category: NCIS
Genre: Ellick, F/M, i couldnt wait for tonight lmao, i forgot how to tag it's been a while, screw rule 12, this is pretty overdone, writing this literally during class wish me luck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:47:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29009271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anothermikaelson/pseuds/anothermikaelson
Summary: sometimes there are some rules even ncis special agents can't break.--aka overprotective ellieaka jealous nickaka "hey let's break gibbs' rules bc why not"
Relationships: Ellie Bishop & Nick Torres, Ellie Bishop/Nick Torres
Comments: 1
Kudos: 51





	rules are meant to be broken

Nick wakes up to a ringing phone. He reaches over Ellie, who's sound asleep next to him, and just declines the call, knowing it's the fifth one from Gibbs. "Who keeps calling?" Ellie whines, throwing the pillow over her face. 

"I don't know, I don't care." Nick collapses back next to her, and she presses her cheek to his shirt. "Go back to sleep, Ellie." 

Ellie keeps quiet for a little while longer until she sits back up. "Shit!" 

"What?" Nick sits up next to her. "What happened?" 

"What if it's Gibbs, Nick? Rule number 3!" She picks up her phone and turns it on, before Nick grabs it out of her hand. 

"Not the first rule we've broken, B." He raises an eyebrow, reminding her of rule 12.

Ellie tries to grab her phone, but Nick holds it up in the air. "Come on! He's going to kill us!" 

Nick laughs. "He's not. Relax, would you?" He kisses her, but she pulls away. "Fine, I'll check." He turns it on just as Gibbs calls. "Hey, Gibbs." 

"This is the sixth time, and--Torres? Why are you answering Bishop's phone?" Gibbs asks, clearly pissed. 

"She fell asleep on the couch," Nick lies, with ease. 

Gibbs sighs. "Alright. Two bodies, at the pier. Get your asses here in fifteen minutes." He hangs up, and Nick hops off the bed. 

"We gotta go. He's pissed." 

Ellie is already dressed. "Told you." She holds her hand out, and Nick tosses her her phone back as he quickly gets dressed. "If Gibbs asks why we were unreachable, I'm putting the blame on you." 

"Rule number two: never screw over your partner," Nick calls. "Though we've screwed each other over in more ways than one, babe." 

"Shut up." Ellie's cheeks heat up as she drags him out the door and into his car. They drive to the pier, playfully bickering the whole way there. 

They arrive, and everyone is already there. "Sorry, Gibbs, we were-" 

"Never say sorry, it's a sign of weakness." Gibbs points to the two bodies McGee is taking pictures of. "Sergeant Logan Kinley and his sister, Dana. What do you think?" 

Ellie tilts her head. "One got shot. The other...strangled?" She points to the imprints of what looks like a rope mark on the second victim's neck. "Or is there something else, too?" 

"We'll figure the rest out later. Time of death?" Gibbs asks. 

"Uh, based on my calculations, five hours ago." Jimmy stands up. "I'll need to do a full autopsy." 

"Alright, let's head back, then." 

**

"We got a lead." Gibbs strides into the room, along with Jack. "Murder weapon was found in the water, no fingerprints. There was some DNA under the strangled victim's fingernails, though. Looks like they maybe fought. Our suspect's name is Katy Wilkes, 32." 

"Relation to victims?" Ellie asks, eating a candy bar. A rule Tony made up that Ellie made sure Nick knew about him echoes in his head: _never date a woman who eats more than you do._

McGee comes over with a file. "She was friends with Logan and Dana. Uh, we're not sure why she'd ever want to shoot Logan and strangle Dana, but we can bring her into interrogation." 

"Kasie checked through Dana's phone, and Katy was supposed to meet up with her and someone else at a bar for lunch. We might see who the someone else is, and see if he or she has a connection to the murders as well. Bishop, Torres, you'll pose as a couple there. McGee and I will stay in the car there. Got it?" Gibbs walks off. 

Ellie looks at Nick, mid-chew. "Is that the only cover we can ever play out?" 

"According to Gibbs, apparently, yes." 

"Oh, don't act like you enjoy it. You're a pain in the-"

McGee groans. "Are you guys done yet? Katy's meeting mystery person in half an hour. Let's go." 

Still arguing, Nick and Ellie leave the bullpen with their senior field agent in tow. 

**

"Feed me." Ellie opens her mouth, and Nick tosses a tater tot into her mouth. 

"Hey, you two. We're on a mission here," Gibbs calls through the comms. 

Nick takes a sip of his drink. "Gibbs, we're doing as you said. Don't complain." 

"Torres..." Gibbs warns. 

Ellie sits up. "Katy's here." She leans into Nick, as they wait for the mystery person. 

Nick puts an arm around Ellie. "Who do you think the mystery person is?" 

"I don't know, maybe it's--Jake?" She sees her ex-husband walk in and sit across from Katy. "What the hell is he doing here?" 

" _He's_ mystery person?" Nick asks, half-jealous, half-incredulous. 

McGee's voice rings out. "Go get them, you two." 

Ellie stands up, walking towards the table, and holds up her badge. "Katy Wilkes?" 

Katy nods warily. "Yes, and you are?" 

"NCIS Special Agent Bishop. This is my partner, Special Agent Torres. We need to take you in for questioning." 

Jake holds his hands up. "Woah, Ellie, there's no need to be jealous. We've been divorced for years already-" 

"You know her?" Katy asks Jake. "Hold up, why do you need me?" 

Nick puts his badge back in his pocket. "We have reason to suspect you of murdering your friends Logan and Dana." 

"What?" Katy asks. "What happened?" 

"That's what we'd like to know. So come with us." 

Katy blinks. "I don't even know what happened!" Ellie ignores her, slapping on the cuffs. "Hold on, you guys can't-" 

Jake stands up. "Wait, what are you guys doing? Seriously? Ellie, we've been divorced for years, and you're literally on a date with this guy! You can't just arrest her because-" 

"Hey man, do us a favor and shut up. You're coming with us, too." Nick attempts to put handcuffs onto Jake, but is punched in the face instead. "What the hell, man?" 

"Nick!" Ellie goes to see if her boyfriend is okay, and turns to Jake. "What the hell is wrong with you?" 

"What's wrong with you?" 

Ellie handcuffs Jake quickly, and takes both him and Katy to the car in the back, with Nick following, his nose bleeding. "You'd better apologize to him, Jake. Or I'll break your-"

"Bishop," Gibbs warns, and Ellie snaps her mouth shut. "Never accept an apology from someone who just sucker punched you." 

Nick smirks, and Ellie smacks his arm. "Shut up." 

"I didn't say anything!" 

"You were about to." 

"But I didn't!" 

"Don't try to feign ignorance, _Nicholas_." 

"Woah, we're on the same side here, _Eleanor_."

"Hey!" McGee calls, pulling out of the parking lot. "Seriously, you guys." 

Katy speaks up. "Uh, why do you need to talk to us?" 

"You'll know when we get there," Ellie calls, pulling out a bag of chips from seemingly nowhere. 

**

"So was it them?" Nick asks, as Ellie sits back down at her desk. 

Ellie shakes her head. "Turns out Dana and Katy were an item, which probably explains why there was her DNA under Dana's nails." 

"What's up with Katy and Jake, then?" 

"College friends. Anyway, Katy said that Dana went to the pier to go meet up with Logan after their meetup."

"Why were Dana and Logan at the pier in the first place?" McGee asks from his desk. 

At that, Ellie raises an eyebrow. "They were going there to spread their dad's ashes. He died two weeks ago, and they decided to just scatter the ashes over the ocean, because that was his dying wish." 

Nick suddenly remembers something. "Did Logan and Dana have another sibling?" 

"I think so, why?" 

"Inheritance? Dana and Logan seemed like they had a lot of money, based on the clothes they were wearing." 

Ellie's eyes widen. "Oh my God, maybe." She quickly types out something, and presents some images. "This is their younger brother, Mason. From the looks of the will their father left behind, Dana and Logan each got a lot more than Mason did." 

Gibbs walks into the room. "Nice work, you two. Where is Mason now?" 

"Uhh..." Ellie pulls up Mason's phone location. "The scene of the crime?" Her brow furrows, and they prepare to leave just as Katy and Jake come out from interrogation. "Oh, you two are done?" 

Katy sniffles. "Yeah. I hope we helped." 

" _You_ did." Ellie glares at her ex-husband. "You didn't." 

Jake holds his hands up. "You can't still be mad at me, can you? I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, okay?" 

Ellie crosses her arms. "Whatever." She turns around to head back to her desk, before turning back around to punch Jake in the face, hard. "There. Now we're even." 

"Bishop! Once the job is done, walk away!" Gibbs scolds. 

"I'm not done with him yet, though! He punched Nick!" 

Nick groans. "Come on, B." He holds her back, and takes her back to her desk. "You guys should probably go." 

Katy and Jake leave, and Gibbs looks over at Ellie. "Bishop, you're acting different today. You've been breaking too many rules already!" 

"It's not my fault your rules are literally begging to be broken!" Ellie shoots back. 

"What's up with you?" Gibbs asks. 

"Nothing!" 

"Don't lie to me!" 

Nick backs away from the standoff between them. "Uh, guys, shouldn't we go catch Mason?" 

Ellie looks up, her eyes finally softening. "Yeah, let's." She pushes past Gibbs and grabs her things, heading out with her partner. 

"What do you think is up when her?" Gibbs asks. 

Jack walks over. "She's stressed, Gibbs. You woke her up at the crack of dawn, and she saw her ex while on a mission, who punched Torres in the face." 

McGee pats Gibbs' back. "Let's go, boss. See you later, Jack." 

* * *

Ellie collapses into her seat, and sees an incoming call from Abby. "Hey." 

"Hey, woah, you're tired. Working on a case?" 

"Just closed it, actually. A guy killed his siblings to get their inheritance, because apparently he owes someone money." 

Abby smiles. "Nice work. You look angry though. What did Torres do this time?" 

"Nothing, Abby. It's just...I saw Jake today." 

"Aww." Abby grimaces. "I have a feeling that's not the only thing." 

Ellie leans back in her chair. "He punched Nick." 

"Oh, that's worth being angry about. What else?" 

"Gibbs woke us up at the crack of dawn." 

"Who's us?" Abby asks. 

Shit. "What? I meant the whole team." 

"Rule number one: don't lie to Abby. Spill." 

"I'm not lying!" 

"Yeah, you are. Your neck's sweating." 

Ellie groans. "Ugh. Me and Nick." She mumbles the last part. 

"Oh my God. Since when? Gibbs is going to kill you." 

"Already broke multiple rules today. He's still pissed about that." 

Abby shakes her head. "I've been waiting for you two to get together for years, oh my God-" 

"Shh! Alright, McGee's coming. Bye!" 

"Bye!" Ellie hangs up, and puts her phone down. 

McGee walks over suspiciously. "Who were you just calling?" 

"Abby." 

"Why did you hang up once I got here?" 

Ellie shrinks back. "No reason." 

"Tell the truth, Bishop." 

"Yeah, but then I'd be breaking rules 4 and 7, and I've broken enough rules already." 

McGee raises an eyebrow. "What? You can't be specific with your lie? And it's a secret?" 

"Yup, entrusted to one other person. So, sorry, can't help you there." She turns back to her computer, finishing up some things. 

"Well, I have to go now. I'm supposed to watch the twins tonight." McGee stands up. "'Night, Bishop." 

"'Night!" Ellie calls. 

Nick walks over. "We're the last two. So, wanna watch a movie?" 

Ellie rolls her eyes. "We just saw a movie last night. How about dinner, then we'll figure the rest out." 

"All right." They walk to the elevator, and Ellie presses the down button. "So, where to for dinner?" 

"Italian?" 

"Sure. But for now, since we're the last two..." Nick pulls Ellie closer and kisses her, resting his hands on her back. The elevator dings, and the sound of books dropping is heard. 

The couple whip their heads in the direction of the sound, and McGee stands there. "First of all, rule 62. Second of all, rule 12." 

"What-what are you doing here?" Ellie asks, heat rising in her cheeks. 

"I left my phone." McGee steps past them and heads to his desk, picking it up. "I'd keep your little _thing_ a secret, too. Or more of a secret. Jack's onto you guys." He steps into the elevator, and Nick and Ellie awkwardly follow. 

"Don't tell anyone." Nick says, trying to keep a straight face. 

"Don't worry, I won't. But maybe stop making out in the office." 

Ellie nods. "Got it." 

McGee looks over at them, their hands still together. "So, is that the tenth broken rule today?" 

"Rules were meant to be broken," Ellie answers, earning a smile from Nick. 

**Author's Note:**

> gibbs' rules:  
> rule #1b: never screw over your partner.  
> rule #3b: never be unreachable.  
> rule #4: the best way to keep a secret? keep it to yourself. the second best way? tell one other person, if you must. there is no third best way.  
> rule #6: never say sorry. it's a sign of weakness.  
> rule #7: always be specific when you lie.  
> rule #11: when the job is done, walk away.  
> rule #12: never date a co-worker.  
> rule #42: never accept an apology from someone who just sucker punched you.  
> rule #62: give people space when they get off the elevator. 
> 
> abby's rule:  
> rule #1: dont lie to abby.
> 
> tony's rule:  
> (unnumbered): never date a woman who eats more than you do. 
> 
> mcgee's rule:  
> #1: never lie to gibbs.


End file.
